Cigar box



Feb. 20, 1952 GREENE 3,021,943

CIGAR BOX Filed Jan. 12, 1959 Z2 a g BY 7% K ATTORNEYS hire tars3,021,943 Patented Feb. 20, 1962 3,021,943 CIGAR BOX Robert A. Greene,Suite 4, 559 Seabreeze Blvd, Daytoua Beach, Fla. Filed .Ian. 12, 1959,Ser. No. 786,172 1 Claim. (Cl. 20645.2)

This invention relates to containers and particularly to boxes havinghinged lids, and more particularly still, to cigar boxes.

Cigar boxes vary somewhat in size, but conventionally consist of a boxof rigid material such as wood or heavy cardboard having a lid hinged atone side which can be opened to expose the contents of the box. Such abox is satisfactory for packaging the cigars and for keeping them ingood condition and forms an ideal container within which the cigars canbe shipped. Cigars in boxes of this nature are usually displayed at thepoint of sale either by tilting the lid upwardly and supporting it witha wire hook, or the like, or by turning the lid downwardly along theback of the box so that the box is supported in a tilted positionwhereby a number of boxes can be arranged in a row within a displaycase.

The width of the lid is the entire width of the box, and because of thiswhen the lid is tilted upwardly or when it is turned completely down totilt the box up, the box and lid combined occupy considerable verticalspace, thus making it inconvenient to reach over one box and into thenext or to lift a box out of a display counter to permit a customer totake cigars from the box.

With the foregoing in mind, a primary object of the present invention isthe provision of a cigar box, or the like, having a lid constructionthat avoids the drawbacks referred to above.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a box,particularly a cigar box, which, when opened, occupies a minimum ofspace.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a box suchas a cigar box in which the sealing of the lid is accomplished betweenthe front and back edges thereof so that the box will withstandconsiderable abuse without breaking the seal of the lid.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a cigarbox, or the like, in which the lid is formed in two sections so thatwhen the box is opened the short portion of the lid can be turned downin front of the box and form an advertising display.

These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent uponreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing a cigar box according to myinvention,

FIGURE 2 is a transverse section through the cigar box as indicated byline 2-2 on FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section through one end of the box as indicatedby line 33 on FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view showing the box opened and illustratingthe use of a paper insert to cover one end of the cigars,

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view showing the box opened in the manner inwhich it would be placed in a display case, and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view drawn at enlarged scale showing thebeveled joint between the two sections of the lid of the box.

Referring to the drawings more in detail, FIGURE 1 shows a cigar boxhaving the conventional form of back, end and bottom walls and with alid generally indicated at It). Lid 10 according to this invention isformed with a shorter front part 12 and a longer back part 14 which 7have their adjacent edges tapered as at 16 so that when the lid portionsare closed the box is sealed closed. The

tapered joint between the lid portions is illustrated at enlarged scalein FIGURE 6.

The shorter front portion 12 of the lid has a hinge member 18 connectingit to the front wall of the cigar box, and the longer rear portion 14 ofthe lid has a hinge 20 connecting it to the back wall of the box.

When the box is closed the two lid portions are retained together andthe entire lid is held closed on the box by a seal strip 22 which maycomprise pressure sensitive adhesive on the under side as indicated at24. This seal strip may include the usual revenue stamps so that uponopening the box the stamps are torn, as is required.

The lid portions 12 and 14 are adapted for resting on a ledge 26 formedon the inside of each end wall of the box as by making the end wall oftwo individual pieces with the inner one slightly shorter than theouter.

After the box has been opened and it is desired to display the contentsthereof, the box may be arranged somewhat as illustrated in FIGURE 4wherein the longer lid portion 14 is held in a raised position by a wirebrace 28 attached to the lid and to the side wall of the box. Theshorter portion 12 of the lid may hang down in front of the box as shownat the left side of FIGURE 4, or may remain folded over in a closedposition as indicated toward the right side of FIGURE 4. In either case,the shorter portion of the lid may comprise advertising copy printedthereon which is prominently visible when the box is opened as in FIGURE4.

The region within the box covered by the short portion 12 of the lidalso forms an ideal place to insert a paper strip 30 having displayadvertising copy thereon. This also forms a means for prominentlydisplaying the name under which the cigars are being sold. Thearrangement of the insertable strip 3t] would be particularly beneficialwhere the merchandise is being sold under the name of the retailerrather than the original manufacturer.

FIGURE 5 illustrates the manner in which the longer portion 14 of thelid, and which extends along the width of the box, can be turnedcompletely down and back of the box and held in that position by a fiatclip 32. Alternatively, the same wire brace as is indicated at 28 inFIGURE 4 may be used. The shorter section 12 of the lid may hang down infront of the box or may be folded back over the box as indicated by thedot-dash lines 34.

The FIGURE 5 arrangement permits the box to be removed from betweenother boxes by lifting the box a minimum amount since each box occupiesa minimum vertical space. This is of distinct advantage for mostshowcase installations because it is many times quite difficult to reachover a row of boxes and get hold of the proper one and then lift it outof the showcase so that the customer may remove cigars therefrom.

To summarize briefly, the box of the present invention provides a boxwhich is more convenient to remove from a show case when the box isopened in the usual manner; the overall elevation of the box whendisplayed on the top of a counter or in a showcase is substantiallyreduced; and the box provides an arrangement whereby the brand name ofthe cigar can be prominently displayed.

The insert 30 in FIGURE 4 may be constructed of paper but may alsocomprise other materials which are of a suitable nature which wouldinclude, for example, metal and in which case the insert would be of amore or less permanent nature and could be reused after one box had beenemptied. The FIGURE 4 arrangement represents one of the principal waysin which cigars are displayed and dispensed, particularly for popularbrands or 0 brands which the retailer wishes to emphasize.

It has been mentioned that the joint between the two lid portions is inthe form of a bevel, but it will be understood that this joint couldalso be in the form of a square stepped joint such as is indicated at 26at the side edges of the box. In either case, that is, whether the jointis bevel or square, the box is readily sealed by the strip 22.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modificationin order to adapt it to different usages and conditions and,accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications Within thisinvention as may fall within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a box adapted for containing cigars, a plurality of unequal sizemembers which form a lid for the top of said box, said lid being dividedbetween the front and back edges in a direction parallel with the frontand back edges thereof and dividing the lid into a short front portionand a longer rear portion, said longer rear portion being hinged to theback edge and said longer rear portion being substantially greater inwidth than the depth of said box whereby said longer lid portion can beturned down and back of the box to form a rear support for said box,said short front portion being of substantially the same dimensionsfront to back as the height of the box, said short front portion beinghinged to the front edge of the box whereby the same when swung aboutits hinged front edge lies against the front side of the box, theadjacent edges of the lid portions being shaped to have correspondinginter-engaging bevels, a removable sealing strip extending across thejoint between said front and rear portions of the lid and extending downthe sides of the box to hold said lid portions together and close saidbox, and an insertible member of no greater width than said short frontportion of the lid and extending laterally across the box beneath saidshort portion of the lid, said inserted members comprising end stripsextending downwardly inside the end walls of said box and forming aremovable element for carrying lettering and configurations fordescribing the contents of said box.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS850,095 Palmer Apr. 9, 1907 1,510,508 Snyder Oct. 7, 1924 1,649,211Bitzer Nov. 15, 1927 1,851,442 Neely Mar. 29, 1932 1,851,728 QuartinMar. 29, 1932 2,218,039 Howald Oct. 15, 1940 2,270,001 Foley Jan. 13,1942 2,804,254 Ness Aug. 27, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,475 Great BritainJuly 2, 1903

